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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. can — to be able to
  2. cold — not warm
  3. can — a tin
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. track — a path
  6. drill — a practice
  7. can — a tin
  8. track — a song
  9. key — for a lock
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. track — to keep track
  12. bat — the animal
  13. club — a group
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. club — for dancing
  16. fine — high quality
  17. key — in music
  18. key — the most important part
  19. drill — the tool
  20. fine — all right
  21. club — for golf
  22. cold — an illness
  23. drill — army training
  24. fine — a penalty

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com